Looking to Invest in Oregon? 5 Industries You May Wish to Consider

When it comes to the west coast of the United States, the first state anyone usually thinks of is (of course!) California. Second to that is Washington State, the home of Boeing and Microsoft, and then last but not least, Oregon. Sandwiched in between two huge attention-getters like Washington and California, Oregon never seems to get the press it deserves.

However, there is much to offer in this state besides the capital city of Portland, and Oregon is steadily staking its claim to fame in a number of areas. Whether you are a resident or a venture capitalist, you may be looking at solid investments in this beautiful Pacific Northwest state. Here are five industries to consider investing in.

1. Hospitality

While this subject may still be taboo in many circles, the fact is that cannabis is now legal for recreational use in the State of Oregon. As a result, increasing numbers of tourists are hitting the west coast instead of states like Colorado where there really is little to offer but lovely scenery and some of the world’s finest ski resorts.

Oregon, on the other hand, has so much more to offer than recreational cannabis and the lovely Siskiyou, Cascade, and Olympic mountain ranges. There are major medical universities here and miles and miles of coastline that offers a breathtaking view of the Pacific Ocean. During the summer season, hundreds of thousands of visitors travel up and down the I-5 or the 101 and these travelers need to rest and recharge somewhere.

Hospitality is a growing industry in Oregon, not only due to recreational pot, but also because there is a real need to cater to travelers going up and down the coast all months of the year. From bed and breakfast facilities to dining and entertainment, this is a key time to get into the hospitality industry in God’s Country, as the Pacific Northwest has been called for many, many years.

2. Aviation Repair and Maintenance

When you think of airports in Oregon, what comes to mind? Of course, you will think of Portland International Airport, PDX, which is home to hundreds of flights, both international and domestic, each day. But there are six different airports in the state, many of which offer connecting flights so that visitors don’t need to travel far by car once arriving in, or departing from, PDX. The six airports that handle commercial passenger flights are:

The only two on the coast are Portland and North Bend, but you will find that Portland really is inland, so why it is listed as coastal is anyone’s guess! The closest anyone can come to understanding this is the fact that Portland has a direct route on a highway to the coast, whereas the others on the I-5 corridor have rather tangled approaches west of the shoreline.

If you are interested in a business that will quickly grow based on current industry information, you might want to set up shop as an aviation mechanic, as you will almost certainly receive more work than you can handle at any given time. Bear in mind that those smaller regional airports probably don’t have carrier mechanics on duty, so even the larger airlines are likely to outsource many of their repairs and overhauls to you – a lucrative venture if ever there was one.

3. Fishing Excursions

With a coastline that is 363.1 miles in length, how many fishing excursions do you think could possibly be run on a daily basis? If you only had one fishing boat per mile, that would be 363 at a bare minimum! Of course, there aren’t docks on every inch of the coast, but you get the picture!

Leaving from any point on the coast of Oregon you can go fishing, but there are also crabbing and clamming excursions that are netting a huge profit each and every year. The state of Oregon could do with more fishing excursions to facilitate a growing number of visitors each year and so it is safe to say that you could net a tidy profit investing in fishing excursions off the coast that are open to the hobbyist sports fisherman and woman.

4. Real Estate

With much of the interior of the state still highly untapped, this would be the time to buy up some prime real estate that had previously been unattractive due to the real estate mantra – location, location, location. After all, who would want to live in a huge area of the country where there is little to offer but simply that, country?

With the cannabis industry taking off to such a great extent in Oregon, now would be the time to buy up some of this key real estate. No, you don’t need to be a commercial pot farmer, but eventually one will come along willing to pay almost any price for some prime real estate and wouldn’t it be nice if you held title to a big chunk of that land?

5. Home Healthcare

Finally, this should come as no surprise. Did you think Oregon was excluded from the states with growing numbers of Baby Boomers reaching their senior years? Home healthcare is a growing industry that is in great demand in every corner of the nation. Whether you are a trained nurse or medical professional isn’t really important if you intend to invest in a home healthcare startup. Your venture capital is what’s needed. Hire nurses and administrators to run the agency for you, but this is one investment that will most certainly pay off – especially within the next couple of decades.

So, there you have five industries that are set to explode in the state of Oregon. Are you looking to invest in this often overlooked beautiful Pacific Northwest state? If so, any of the above industries can yield a tidy profit and each bears closer scrutiny. Which appeals most to you? Believe it or not, you won’t go wrong.

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CASCADE BUSINESS NEWS

Cascade Business News (CBN), Central Oregon's business newspaper, is local and family-owned and operated by Jeff Martin. CBN is published the first and third Wednesdays of each month. CBN is a division of Cascade Publications Inc.